Top Stories category, Page 271
WESA, WYEP staff ratify 1st union contract
The journalists and content creators at Pittsburgh’s nonprofit radio stations WESA and WYEP finalized their first collective bargaining agreement Thursday. Over two dozen staffers unionized with the SAG-AFTRA labor union two years ago, and, according to a press release, have bargained in good faith with Pittsburgh Community Broadcasting, which operates...
Fetterman says Trump deserves pardon since Hunter Biden got one
U.S. Sen. John Fetterman said Thursday while appearing on TV talk show “The View” that recent criminal cases against President-elect Donald Trump and Hunter Biden were politically motivated, and that since Biden received a pardon from his father, President Joe Biden, then Trump also deserves one. Fetterman, a Democrat from...
Family holds out hope as search continues for missing Unity woman at sinkhole site
More than 72 hours have passed since authorities believe Elizabeth Pollard vanished into a sinkhole above an abandoned mine in Unity, yet her family remains hopeful that she will be found alive. Her niece, Tabitha Pollard, relayed a message Thursday on behalf of Pollard’s husband and son. “They are still...
7.0 earthquake off Northern California prompts brief tsunami warningVideo
SAN FRANCISCO — A 7.0 magnitude earthquake shook a large area of Northern California on Thursday, knocking items of grocery store shelves, sending children scrambling under desks and prompting a brief tsunami warning for 5.3 million people along the West Coast. The quake struck at 10:44 a.m. west of Ferndale,...
Audit flags Pittsburgh Public Schools for issuing employees too many credit cards
City Controller Rachael Heisler is urging Pittsburgh Public Schools officials to cut back on the millions of dollars charged each year to hundreds of district credit cards for business expenses, warning of the potential for abuse. From January 1, 2021 through June 30, 2024, there were 59,936 credit card transactions...
Ohio man charged with stalking 1 day after release on similar charge
Hours after being released from jail Monday for stalking singer Lacey Sturm in Murrysville, an Ohio man was back behind bars after he showed up at the woman’s home, according to court papers. Anthony A. Carpenter, 43, arrived at the house at 9:45 p.m. Tuesday in a flat bed truck,...
Pearl Jam announces 2 Pittsburgh shows in MayVideo
Get ready for a double dose of Pearl Jam this spring. The veteran alternative rockers are coming to Pittsburgh next year for a pair of shows on their Dark Matter tour, with concerts announced Thursday for May 16 and 18 at PPG Paints Arena. The grunge rockers erupted in the...
‘Justice was served’: Killer of off-duty cop slain in Blawnox gets maximum prison time
A judge Thursday sentenced a Pittsburgh man to 20 to 40 years in prison for killing an off-duty Oakdale police officer during a road-rage incident. Kevin McSwiggen, 42, of the city’s Greenfield neighborhood was convicted in July by a jury of third-degree murder in the July 3, 2022, shooting death...
Secret Service director vows overhaul as Congress presses him on Trump assassination attemptVideo
WASHINGTON — The acting director of the Secret Service said Thursday that the agency is “reorganizing and reimagining” its culture and how it operates following an assassination attempt against Donald Trump on the campaign trail. Members of a bipartisan House task force investigating the attempt on Trump’s life pushed Ronald...
Market Square facelift pitched by urban design group behind NYC’s High Line
A proposal to reimagine Market Square, a hub of Downtown Pittsburgh since the 1700s, would limit vehicle traffic, add more greenery and seating and install a semi-circular trellis canopy under which events could take place throughout the year. The Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership pitched the plans to the city’s Historic Review...
1,000 UPMC nurses sign open letter urging hiring, raises, more time off
Nurse Kelly Poholsky has worked at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital for 36 years. All that time, she has felt the hospital in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood needed more nurses. Poholsky, 61, of Penn Township is one of more than 1,000 nurses throughout the sprawling UPMC network who have signed an open letter...
Thundersnow marks arrival of cold front in Western Pennsylvania
Western Pennsylvanians got a rare treat overnight — thundersnow — a winter thunderstorm. The rumbles of thunder and flashes of lightning while snow was falling startled awake Tom Bell, Greensburg’s fire chief and streets superintendent. “I was like ‘What the hell was that?’” he said. Bell immediately looked at remote...
Police release new photos in the search for the gunman in the UnitedHealthcare CEO killing
NEW YORK — The masked gunman who stalked and killed the leader of one of the largest U.S. health insurance companies outside a Manhattan hotel used ammunition emblazoned with the words “deny,” “defend” and “depose,” two law enforcement officials said Thursday. The words were written in permanent marker, according to...
Searchers ‘are in the area now’ where Unity woman fell into sinkholeVideo
Investigators believe they are narrowing in on where a Unity woman fell through a sinkhole in the village of Marguerite and has been missing since. “We are in the area now where we believe that she went down,” Pennsylvania State Police spokesman Trooper Steve Limani said Thursday afternoon. Authorities are...
Rizzo’s opens Italian market in former Wagon Wheel restaurant in Salem
The taxidermy grizzly bear and red devil’s food cake that were once staples at the Wagon Wheel restaurant in Salem have been replaced by fresh pasta salads and Italian aromas. Wagon Wheel closed its doors almost exactly a year ago after more than six decades in business. Rizzo’s has opened...
Editorial: Why is Trump’s opposition to U.S. Steel sale a ‘gut punch?’
On Monday, President-elect Donald Trump took to social media to make a statement about his feelings on an issue of domestic economy and foreign relations. “I am totally against the once great and powerful U.S. Steel being bought by a foreign company, in this case Nippon Steel of Japan,” he...
With Pittsburgh EMS contract settled, union targets residency requirement
Two weeks after securing a new contract, the union representing Pittsburgh Emergency Medical Services personnel said Wednesday it intends to sue the city to eliminate a residency requirement for its members as a way to address chronic staffing problems. If a lawsuit is successful, the bureau’s members will be able...
Unity residents concerned as recovery search for woman continues in abandoned mine
Chris Kondrich wasn’t shocked to learn a sinkhole had opened a street away from his Upper Marguerite home in Unity. A former firefighter and longtime hazardous materials volunteer, Kondrich said he has seen plenty of mine subsidence incidents. Kondrich lives on Lemmon Road, about a quarter-mile from where Elizabeth Pollard,...
Westmoreland commissioners, row officers to receive 3.4% raises in 2025
Westmoreland County’s elected officials will again receive raises in 2025. The commissioners and row officers are slated to see their paychecks jump next year by nearly 3.4%, nearly mirroring the hikes received this year and once again prompting one official to call for a cap on future raises. “This is...
North Apollo sticks with Kiski Township for police coverage, withdraws from proposed regional force
North Apollo is right back where it started with police coverage after months of haggling with different departments and infighting among officials. Kiski Township police got the nod Monday to provide protection for another two years. Kiski Township will be paid $68,000 in 2025 and $72,000 in 2026. The decision...
Lawyers portray Jordan Brown as either innocent boy or perpetrator of ‘perfect crime’
Pennsylvania State Police must have believed Jordan Brown committed the perfect crime in 2009, his lawyer told a jury Tuesday. In just two minutes, according to the scenario described by attorney Alec Wright that he attributed to state police, the then-11-year-old went upstairs in his Lawrence County home, retrieved his...
Attorneys for Springdale residents seek reargument over boiler house ruling
Attorneys representing 16 Springdale residents seeking to block an implosion of the former power plant’s boiler house say they weren’t required to go through other outlets to challenge the demolition and permitting, contrary to a recent state Superior Court decision that ruled they should have. That’s part of the argument...
Dueling bills propose conflicting approaches to affordable housing in Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh has 90 neighborhoods, but only four of them require large housing developments to include affordable units for lower-income people. Mayor Ed Gainey wants to expand that mandate, known as “inclusionary zoning,” to all parts of the city. Gainey’s administration is pushing for a blanket strategy, arguing that affordable housing...
Carrick man indicted for attempted murder of DEA agent
A federal grand jury has indicted a Pittsburgh man on charges of attempted murder and assaulting a federal officer nearly four months after authorities say he fired at least 18 shots at a Drug Enforcement Administration agent who later found a large stash of fentanyl at the man’s home. Drew...
Spotify Wrapped is finally here. How can you see your 2024 recap?
NEW YORK — It’s that time of year: Spotify has released its annual Wrapped, personalized recaps of users’ listening habits and year in audio. Spotify has been giving its listeners breakdowns of their data since 2016. And each year, it’s become a bigger production — and internet sensation. Spotify said...
